Baccalaureate Address to the Class of 2012 Good Evening Class of 2012….You guys look GOOD! What a great honor and a privilege I consider it to be given this opportunity to address you tonight as part of your Baccalaureate celebration. You know there is a very fine line that I am required to walk in my professional duties as a public school teacher, but tonight as your guest, I am allowed to speak from my heart, unrestrained and uncensored….are you ready?
As I begin, I am reminded of that famous courtroom scene in A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise is cross-examining Jack Nicholson’s character…but unlike the General, I not only believe you “CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH!” I whole-heartedly believe with every ounce of my being that deep within each of you lies a heart that is yearning for the Truth—the Truth that has remained unchanged for over 2,000 years.
The last time I addressed an Eastern Senior Class like this was 2010. A lot was happening in the world and in my personal life at that time, but I still retained a sense of positive hope for the future and had a strong grasp on my faith and my convictions. During that address, I spoke of my sister’s heroic battle with cancer and how painful it was to watch her go through both chemo and radiation therapy. I had my head shaved in solidarity and drew close to God for strength and consolation during that rough time. I am thankful that two years later she is in remission and recently testified before a Congressional Committee regarding women’s health issues and the need for stronger requirements for doctors when reviewing patients’ test results. However, the last two years have been difficult for me as a man of faith and a person who was raised in a patriotic home that revered the high-born ideals of The United States of America. So when I was approached last year by the Class of 2011 to speak, I found myself unable to honor their request. I felt like I would be a hypocrite, a phoney. How could I be filled with such pessimism about our country and the future, yet stand in a pulpit and encourage young men and women to praise God for the bright future that brimmed on the horizon for them? But a lot has happened since June of last year, and so when I was considering what to focus on as a message for you all tonight, the first thought that came to mind was the famous speech which is now referred to as “The Mountaintop Speech” that Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on the night of April 3rd 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King was in Memphis supporting a strike by the city’s sanitation workers, who were protesting low pay and poor working conditions. The Reverend Samuel Billy Kyles was with Dr. King that night, and he recalled in an interview he gave on NPR radio in 2008 how unsettled Dr. King was about speaking that night. The great civil rights leader had received numerous death threats and was hesitant to approach the podium, but he somehow summoned the courage to offer words of hope and inspiration to the packed house that had turned out on that stormy night. In that speech, Dr. King went beyond the topic of the workers’ protest, touching on death and his own mortality. Ralph Abernathy, another close associate of Dr. King, has said that in that famous speech, Dr. King preached away his own fear and boldly declared the ideals and principals for which his own life would be taken by an assassin’s bullet the following day. Now I hope this isn’t my last speech, and in no way am I attempting to equate myself with the eloquent Dr. King. But what I hope to do tonight is to follow Dr. King’s example and address head-on the issues that forced me to decline last year’s invitation to speak.
In my closing remarks to the Class of 2010, I invoked the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was fond of commanding his students at commencement to “Go and set the world on fire!” In 2010 that seemed like a fitting challenge! As an English teacher who has beaten my students over the head with literary analysis, I would like to look at that phrase symbolically for a moment. This year in the Spring semester of Academic English 12, we read William Golding’s classic work Lord of The Flies. In that novel, Golding masterfully uses fire as a symbol of both good and evil forces. Finding themselves stranded on an uninhabited island, a group of young boys quickly organize themselves and select a leader who declares the importance of a signal fire if they are to have any hope of rescue. Using the thick eyeglasses of the character nicknamed Piggy, the boys are able to start a fire with the hope that its light and column of smoke might draw the attention of a passing ship. The fire also gives heat and comfort to the boys during the dark of night and provides protection from a phantom “beastie” that they instinctively fear. However, as Golding so masterfully illustrates through his excellent use of characterization and symbolism, the true beast the boys have to fear lies within themselves. The character of Jack fixates on the desire to hunt and kill a wild pig, and the benevolent qualities of the fire for signal, comfort and cooking are soon unleashed in a destructive manner on the island and turn the tropical paradise into a hellish inferno. (Does all this sound familiar to you, second semester graduates?) I highlight this literary example because fire has both positive and negative attributes. In seeking to inspire the Class of 2010 to “set the world on fire,” I was metaphorically challenging them to use their acquired knowledge for good, to be an example to a world that was (and still is) in desperate need of positive influence. The charge was to use that spark of knowledge they had gained while at Eastern and to pursue it - in the words of Tennyson - “like a sinking star.”
But the world hasn’t gotten any better in the last two years. As a matter of fact, things have only gotten worse. Violent conflict continues to dominate the headlines. The economy is spiraling. The cost of living is dramatically rising, and many of you know from personal experience the pain of filling a gas tank to the tune of $60 dollars! Innocent women and children are being gunned down by violent regimes, Iran continues to develop nuclear capability with the stated intent to destroy Israel, and drought and disease continue to drastically impact the lives of many beyond our shores. Yet our culture continues to be self-absorbed, rioting for a $150 pair of retro hightop sneakers, camping out on sidewalks to insure first access to all the holiday merchandise on sale, and celebrating entertainment which glorifies outlandish behavior captured under the title of “Must See Reality TV.” So in a world that is suffering, where so many are in need and the future seems so tenuous, I don’t have a burning desire (no pun intended) to encourage you to “go and set the world on fire!” In many ways like in William Golding’s novel, our island is already on fire—the destructive fire which seeks to consume goodness and truth.
If you will allow me to digress for a minute, I would like to tell you a story… “Story time!” My father was a high school teacher and guidance counselor for over thirty years. He was a college standout athlete and coached cross-country and track in Northern New Jersey for much of his teaching career. He also found time to be my Little League coach, my mentor, and my hero. Growing up I remember the awe with which I would peruse his many trophies and medals. I would love to hear his stories about playing college basketball in a televised game in Madison Square Garden or setting his college record in the 4 X 4 Relay and High Jump. Athletic excellence was very important to my father, and in many ways I always felt like a disappointment to him for not measuring up and continuing his legacy on the track or on the court. But he and my mother are the reason I became a teacher. They were both great examples of what is good in public education. They were committed to the belief that every student matters and that in America, through hard work and determination, anyone can succeed if they take advantage of the educational opportunities they are given in the classroom.
There was one student my father had whom I never met. In fact, he graduated from Sparta High School even before I was born. But I know his name for several reasons. Robert Turnbull was one of my father’s runners, a team captain, and he honorably chose to serve his country after graduation. Sadly, he lost his life in the line of duty during the Tet Offensive in February of 1968. He had an award named after him in his honor, and I remember the plaque with his name on it that hung on the wall in the family room of my boyhood home. He, like so many heroic young men whose lives are tragically cut short by the violence of war, became a symbol of patriotic sacrifice, and his example made an impact on me even though I never met him. When my father was inducted into the North Jersey Athletic Hall of Fame for his accomplishments both as an athlete and a coach, my dad gave an acceptance speech that left the banquet hall in tears. After all my father had accomplished, he chose not to bask in the glory of that recognition but instead accepted his award in honor of the boys whom he had coached, like Robert Turnbull and Al Graff who had lost their lives serving our country in Vietnam. That’s the kind of man my father is, and why I have always hoped that although I was never the athlete he was, that perhaps I could one day be an example like him.
So what does this story have to do with literary symbolism, fire, and St. Ignatius?…Like any great novel….you’ll have to turn a few more pages to find out how it all comes together in the end.
In August of 2010, I extended an invitation to a member of Eastern High School’s Class of 2008 to join me on a mission trip to India. Most of you know of the passion I have for working with children from the poorest of the poor in South India. As part of the mission outreach, we had been able to help a small health clinic become established in a rural village, and I knew that this student - a certified EMT and third-year nursing student at York College - would be perfect for the mission. His gregarious personality and positive spirit would have been an added blessing to the children and families seeking basic healthcare in that desolate region of India. Here is his response to that invitation: “It sounds like an exciting and rewarding time, but I don’t think I’ll be able to swing it with school. Take care, and take lots of photos then post them Facebook so we can see the highlights. Oh and Sco…thanks for thinking of me!” A few short months later, Mike Enochs would be diagnosed with brain cancer. His post one the day that he received that terrible news was heartbreaking to read: “I got my results. God, I really need you!” I responded to his post privately and no one, except his fiancé Lexi, has ever heard his response: “Hey Mr. Scofield. Thanks so much for those words. I have a lot of thinking to do before I feel comfortable with what’s going on. I’m just trying to remember that God is good and has a plan.”
In the months that followed, I - along with the entire Eastern community - had to watch cancer slowly take its toll on Mike physically. But mentally and spiritually, he never surrendered. He never gave an inch! He never wallowed in self-pity or complained. He showed all of us what it means to be courageous and to have the heart of a lion! It was toward the end of your first semester this year when the doctors released Mike from Lancaster General Hospital. I remember stopping by his house to see him after school one day, and Lexi was sitting there next to him on his bed. She and I were talking when Mike slowly opened his eyes and looked at Lexi and then looked over at me. I told him, “It must be really strange waking up in your bedroom with your fiancé and Mr. Scofield sitting here!”....and he smiled that big Mike Enochs smile! The last time Mike was released from the hospital was something I will never forget. It seemed like every fire truck, ambulance, and police car in York County lined the streets of Hellam, and a receiving line formed that stretched from Mike’s bedside out the door, down the hall, down the stairs, out across the parking lot of the restaurant and down the sidewalk. That was a bittersweet night. We all knew Mike had little time left. I waited in line and got to tell Mike how much his example of courage and character meant to me. I told him that although teachers are NEVER supposed to play favorites, he would always be my greatest student. Someone took a picture of me at Mike’s bedside that night, and it is a treasured keepsake of mine which will always be a reminder that sometimes a student can be the best instructor a teacher can have! Mike passed away a few days later. It was during the final minutes of your first semester exam when I got the call he had passed. After class was over, Lexi called me on my cell phone and said she was with him, and she invited me to come down to the house before the ambulance came to take him. If you think saying goodbye at graduation can be emotional, I can’t even begin to put into words what it felt like to place my hand on Mike’s and kneel at his bedside to offer thanks and a prayer for having had the blessing of knowing him. He was Robin and Larry’s son, a student, a friend, Lexi’s fiancé, an EMT, and a firefighter. The scripture reading tonight called attention to the importance of remembering the Lord in the days of your youth. We have no guarantees in life. The Carpe Diem motif that I relentlessly tried to drill into your heads echoes through the words of the ancient preacher who wrote the message of Ecclesiastes as a counterpoint to the wisdom offered in Proverbs: How you spend your youth and what you grow to value is of the utmost importance if we are to have any hope of changing the future direction of this world. By remembering the Lord in the days of your youth, you are, in a sense, training for the day of trial that life is sure to bring your way.
In his book, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters, author and theologian N.T. Wright offers the example of U.S. Airways pilot Chelsey Sullenberger III, who is better known as Captain Sully. “On January 15, 2009, Flight 1549 took off at 15:26 from Laguardia Airport. Two minutes into takeoff, the aircraft ran straight into a flock of Canada geese. Almost at once, both the engines were severely damaged and lost their power. The plane was at that point heading north over the Bronx, one of the most densely populated parts of the city. Captain Sully and his co-pilot had to make several major decisions instantly if they were going to save the lives of people not only on board, but also on the ground. In those critical split-seconds, Captain Sully made the heroic call to crash land his Airbus A320 on the Hudson River. In order to successfully ‘land’ the plane on the water, it required them to do the following:
Shut down the engines
Set the right speed so the plane could glide as long as possible without power
Get the nose of the plane down to maintain speed
Disconnect the autopilot and override the flight management system
Activate the “ditch” system sealing vents and valves to make the plane as water tight as possible
And most of all they had to fly and then glide the plane in a fast left-hand turn so it could come down facing south, going with the flow of the river, straighten the plane from the tilt so the plane would be exactly level from side to side and then had to get the nose back up again but not too far up and land straight flat on the water.
And HE DID IT! Captain Sully even had time to walk up and down the plane aisle a couple of times to check that everyone had escaped before leaving himself! Some called it a miracle…but others who know the importance of training and the power of right habits might say it was experience. You could say Captain Sullivan had the character of what it takes to do the right thing at the right time.”
It sure makes for a great story. But N.T. Wright correctly points out this is an example of Virtue—when someone has made a thousand small choices, requiring effort and concentration, to do something which is good and right but which doesn’t come naturally. When it really matters, what is required is then automatic. It may look like it “just happens,” but it was the preparation for the unexpected that allowed Captain Sullivan to be able to accept the conditions he was given and respond accordingly. It is, as N.T. Wright says, an example of when “wise and courageous choices have become second nature.” This is what occurs when you purposefully choose to be open to God’s will for your life and daily seek Him. The choices you make in the “days of your youth” are the necessary building blocks of character and virtue, so that when the time of trial comes, you can confidently rely on the power of God’s will in your life. The importance of the scripture message tonight is demonstrated by the life of Eastern graduate Michael Enochs. He lived life to the fullest. He treasured life, family, friendship and love. He placed value on the important things in life and dedicated his life to the service of others. For when the call went out, and the heat of the flames forced many to run from the scene, Mike Enochs had the courage and dedication to run toward them, ready to risk his own life to save another. Even in the classroom, his goal was to achieve the very best he possibly could so that he could use that knowledge in his nursing career to help those in need. Although he was taken from us at such a young age and was so full of life, Mike lived out those words of Ecclesiastes. He lived his faith through his kindness and service to others, and with a joyful, thankful spirit. And when the “difficult times came,” his faith was there to sustain him, offer him hope even in the face of such a terrible disease, and we were all blessed by the example of what we saw through the content of his character.
Last year, I couldn’t find the inspiration to stand in front of a group of graduates and speak from my heart about my faith and the hope of the Gospel message. I was discouraged. I felt that so much of what I believed in about the greatness of our country was lost, and that faith didn’t seem to provide any answers, it only lead to more questions. But tonight, although I am honored to have been asked to speak to you, I would like to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I don’t want you to remember anything that I have done or said. I want you to remember the life of one of Eastern York High School’s best: Engine Company 21 Firefighter and QRS Captain Michael Enochs.
There are some who believe that on that rainy night in Memphis in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision that his life would soon be taken. The truth is, none of us knows when our time will come and what tragedy may befall us. But we need to always be aware that “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” So we must use our time wisely. I still believe that the torch of truth and knowledge needs to be carried forward into the world, and like St. Ignatius I will continue to encourage you to use your talents, gifts, abilities, and knowledge to “Set the world on fire”, but remember-- Just like the boys on the island in Lord of The Flies, much of our world is threatened by a raging fire of ignorance, indifference, incompetence, and selfishness. But like the old aphorism says, “Fight fire with fire!” Therefore, remember the Lord in the days of your youth so that when trials come and you find yourself staring into the heat of adversity, like Mike you’ll have the courage, the training, the character, the virtue, and the FAITH to face the flames with the true heart of a believer!
Congratulations Class of 2012! May God richly bless you in all that you do.
Baccalaureate Address to the Class of 2012
Good Evening Class of 2012….You guys look GOOD! What a great honor and a privilege I consider it to be given this opportunity to address you tonight as part of your Baccalaureate celebration. You know there is a very fine line that I am required to walk in my professional duties as a public school teacher, but tonight as your guest, I am allowed to speak from my heart, unrestrained and uncensored….are you ready?
As I begin, I am reminded of that famous courtroom scene in A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise is cross-examining Jack Nicholson’s character…but unlike the General, I not only believe you “CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH!” I whole-heartedly believe with every ounce of my being that deep within each of you lies a heart that is yearning for the Truth—the Truth that has remained unchanged for over 2,000 years.
The last time I addressed an Eastern Senior Class like this was 2010. A lot was happening in the world and in my personal life at that time, but I still retained a sense of positive hope for the future and had a strong grasp on my faith and my convictions. During that address, I spoke of my sister’s heroic battle with cancer and how painful it was to watch her go through both chemo and radiation therapy. I had my head shaved in solidarity and drew close to God for strength and consolation during that rough time. I am thankful that two years later she is in remission and recently testified before a Congressional Committee regarding women’s health issues and the need for stronger requirements for doctors when reviewing patients’ test results. However, the last two years have been difficult for me as a man of faith and a person who was raised in a patriotic home that revered the high-born ideals of The United States of America. So when I was approached last year by the Class of 2011 to speak, I found myself unable to honor their request. I felt like I would be a hypocrite, a phoney. How could I be filled with such pessimism about our country and the future, yet stand in a pulpit and encourage young men and women to praise God for the bright future that brimmed on the horizon for them? But a lot has happened since June of last year, and so when I was considering what to focus on as a message for you all tonight, the first thought that came to mind was the famous speech which is now referred to as “The Mountaintop Speech” that Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on the night of April 3rd 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King was in Memphis supporting a strike by the city’s sanitation workers, who were protesting low pay and poor working conditions. The Reverend Samuel Billy Kyles was with Dr. King that night, and he recalled in an interview he gave on NPR radio in 2008 how unsettled Dr. King was about speaking that night. The great civil rights leader had received numerous death threats and was hesitant to approach the podium, but he somehow summoned the courage to offer words of hope and inspiration to the packed house that had turned out on that stormy night. In that speech, Dr. King went beyond the topic of the workers’ protest, touching on death and his own mortality. Ralph Abernathy, another close associate of Dr. King, has said that in that famous speech, Dr. King preached away his own fear and boldly declared the ideals and principals for which his own life would be taken by an assassin’s bullet the following day. Now I hope this isn’t my last speech, and in no way am I attempting to equate myself with the eloquent Dr. King. But what I hope to do tonight is to follow Dr. King’s example and address head-on the issues that forced me to decline last year’s invitation to speak.
In my closing remarks to the Class of 2010, I invoked the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was fond of commanding his students at commencement to “Go and set the world on fire!” In 2010 that seemed like a fitting challenge! As an English teacher who has beaten my students over the head with literary analysis, I would like to look at that phrase symbolically for a moment. This year in the Spring semester of Academic English 12, we read William Golding’s classic work Lord of The Flies. In that novel, Golding masterfully uses fire as a symbol of both good and evil forces. Finding themselves stranded on an uninhabited island, a group of young boys quickly organize themselves and select a leader who declares the importance of a signal fire if they are to have any hope of rescue. Using the thick eyeglasses of the character nicknamed Piggy, the boys are able to start a fire with the hope that its light and column of smoke might draw the attention of a passing ship. The fire also gives heat and comfort to the boys during the dark of night and provides protection from a phantom “beastie” that they instinctively fear. However, as Golding so masterfully illustrates through his excellent use of characterization and symbolism, the true beast the boys have to fear lies within themselves. The character of Jack fixates on the desire to hunt and kill a wild pig, and the benevolent qualities of the fire for signal, comfort and cooking are soon unleashed in a destructive manner on the island and turn the tropical paradise into a hellish inferno. (Does all this sound familiar to you, second semester graduates?) I highlight this literary example because fire has both positive and negative attributes. In seeking to inspire the Class of 2010 to “set the world on fire,” I was metaphorically challenging them to use their acquired knowledge for good, to be an example to a world that was (and still is) in desperate need of positive influence. The charge was to use that spark of knowledge they had gained while at Eastern and to pursue it - in the words of Tennyson - “like a sinking star.”
But the world hasn’t gotten any better in the last two years. As a matter of fact, things have only gotten worse. Violent conflict continues to dominate the headlines. The economy is spiraling. The cost of living is dramatically rising, and many of you know from personal experience the pain of filling a gas tank to the tune of $60 dollars! Innocent women and children are being gunned down by violent regimes, Iran continues to develop nuclear capability with the stated intent to destroy Israel, and drought and disease continue to drastically impact the lives of many beyond our shores. Yet our culture continues to be self-absorbed, rioting for a $150 pair of retro hightop sneakers, camping out on sidewalks to insure first access to all the holiday merchandise on sale, and celebrating entertainment which glorifies outlandish behavior captured under the title of “Must See Reality TV.” So in a world that is suffering, where so many are in need and the future seems so tenuous, I don’t have a burning desire (no pun intended) to encourage you to “go and set the world on fire!” In many ways like in William Golding’s novel, our island is already on fire—the destructive fire which seeks to consume goodness and truth.
If you will allow me to digress for a minute, I would like to tell you a story… “Story time!” My father was a high school teacher and guidance counselor for over thirty years. He was a college standout athlete and coached cross-country and track in Northern New Jersey for much of his teaching career. He also found time to be my Little League coach, my mentor, and my hero. Growing up I remember the awe with which I would peruse his many trophies and medals. I would love to hear his stories about playing college basketball in a televised game in Madison Square Garden or setting his college record in the 4 X 4 Relay and High Jump. Athletic excellence was very important to my father, and in many ways I always felt like a disappointment to him for not measuring up and continuing his legacy on the track or on the court. But he and my mother are the reason I became a teacher. They were both great examples of what is good in public education. They were committed to the belief that every student matters and that in America, through hard work and determination, anyone can succeed if they take advantage of the educational opportunities they are given in the classroom.
There was one student my father had whom I never met. In fact, he graduated from Sparta High School even before I was born. But I know his name for several reasons. Robert Turnbull was one of my father’s runners, a team captain, and he honorably chose to serve his country after graduation. Sadly, he lost his life in the line of duty during the Tet Offensive in February of 1968. He had an award named after him in his honor, and I remember the plaque with his name on it that hung on the wall in the family room of my boyhood home. He, like so many heroic young men whose lives are tragically cut short by the violence of war, became a symbol of patriotic sacrifice, and his example made an impact on me even though I never met him. When my father was inducted into the North Jersey Athletic Hall of Fame for his accomplishments both as an athlete and a coach, my dad gave an acceptance speech that left the banquet hall in tears. After all my father had accomplished, he chose not to bask in the glory of that recognition but instead accepted his award in honor of the boys whom he had coached, like Robert Turnbull and Al Graff who had lost their lives serving our country in Vietnam. That’s the kind of man my father is, and why I have always hoped that although I was never the athlete he was, that perhaps I could one day be an example like him.
So what does this story have to do with literary symbolism, fire, and St. Ignatius?…Like any great novel….you’ll have to turn a few more pages to find out how it all comes together in the end.
In August of 2010, I extended an invitation to a member of Eastern High School’s Class of 2008 to join me on a mission trip to India. Most of you know of the passion I have for working with children from the poorest of the poor in South India. As part of the mission outreach, we had been able to help a small health clinic become established in a rural village, and I knew that this student - a certified EMT and third-year nursing student at York College - would be perfect for the mission. His gregarious personality and positive spirit would have been an added blessing to the children and families seeking basic healthcare in that desolate region of India. Here is his response to that invitation: “It sounds like an exciting and rewarding time, but I don’t think I’ll be able to swing it with school. Take care, and take lots of photos then post them Facebook so we can see the highlights. Oh and Sco…thanks for thinking of me!” A few short months later, Mike Enochs would be diagnosed with brain cancer. His post one the day that he received that terrible news was heartbreaking to read: “I got my results. God, I really need you!” I responded to his post privately and no one, except his fiancé Lexi, has ever heard his response: “Hey Mr. Scofield. Thanks so much for those words. I have a lot of thinking to do before I feel comfortable with what’s going on. I’m just trying to remember that God is good and has a plan.”
In the months that followed, I - along with the entire Eastern community - had to watch cancer slowly take its toll on Mike physically. But mentally and spiritually, he never surrendered. He never gave an inch! He never wallowed in self-pity or complained. He showed all of us what it means to be courageous and to have the heart of a lion! It was toward the end of your first semester this year when the doctors released Mike from Lancaster General Hospital. I remember stopping by his house to see him after school one day, and Lexi was sitting there next to him on his bed. She and I were talking when Mike slowly opened his eyes and looked at Lexi and then looked over at me. I told him, “It must be really strange waking up in your bedroom with your fiancé and Mr. Scofield sitting here!”....and he smiled that big Mike Enochs smile! The last time Mike was released from the hospital was something I will never forget. It seemed like every fire truck, ambulance, and police car in York County lined the streets of Hellam, and a receiving line formed that stretched from Mike’s bedside out the door, down the hall, down the stairs, out across the parking lot of the restaurant and down the sidewalk. That was a bittersweet night. We all knew Mike had little time left. I waited in line and got to tell Mike how much his example of courage and character meant to me. I told him that although teachers are NEVER supposed to play favorites, he would always be my greatest student. Someone took a picture of me at Mike’s bedside that night, and it is a treasured keepsake of mine which will always be a reminder that sometimes a student can be the best instructor a teacher can have! Mike passed away a few days later. It was during the final minutes of your first semester exam when I got the call he had passed. After class was over, Lexi called me on my cell phone and said she was with him, and she invited me to come down to the house before the ambulance came to take him. If you think saying goodbye at graduation can be emotional, I can’t even begin to put into words what it felt like to place my hand on Mike’s and kneel at his bedside to offer thanks and a prayer for having had the blessing of knowing him. He was Robin and Larry’s son, a student, a friend, Lexi’s fiancé, an EMT, and a firefighter. The scripture reading tonight called attention to the importance of remembering the Lord in the days of your youth. We have no guarantees in life. The Carpe Diem motif that I relentlessly tried to drill into your heads echoes through the words of the ancient preacher who wrote the message of Ecclesiastes as a counterpoint to the wisdom offered in Proverbs: How you spend your youth and what you grow to value is of the utmost importance if we are to have any hope of changing the future direction of this world. By remembering the Lord in the days of your youth, you are, in a sense, training for the day of trial that life is sure to bring your way.
In his book, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters, author and theologian N.T. Wright offers the example of U.S. Airways pilot Chelsey Sullenberger III, who is better known as Captain Sully. “On January 15, 2009, Flight 1549 took off at 15:26 from Laguardia Airport. Two minutes into takeoff, the aircraft ran straight into a flock of Canada geese. Almost at once, both the engines were severely damaged and lost their power. The plane was at that point heading north over the Bronx, one of the most densely populated parts of the city. Captain Sully and his co-pilot had to make several major decisions instantly if they were going to save the lives of people not only on board, but also on the ground. In those critical split-seconds, Captain Sully made the heroic call to crash land his Airbus A320 on the Hudson River. In order to successfully ‘land’ the plane on the water, it required them to do the following:
- Shut down the engines
- Set the right speed so the plane could glide as long as possible without power
- Get the nose of the plane down to maintain speed
- Disconnect the autopilot and override the flight management system
- Activate the “ditch” system sealing vents and valves to make the plane as water tight as possible
- And most of all they had to fly and then glide the plane in a fast left-hand turn so it could come down facing south, going with the flow of the river, straighten the plane from the tilt so the plane would be exactly level from side to side and then had to get the nose back up again but not too far up and land straight flat on the water.
And HE DID IT! Captain Sully even had time to walk up and down the plane aisle a couple of times to check that everyone had escaped before leaving himself!Some called it a miracle…but others who know the importance of training and the power of right habits might say it was experience. You could say Captain Sullivan had the character of what it takes to do the right thing at the right time.”
It sure makes for a great story. But N.T. Wright correctly points out this is an example of Virtue—when someone has made a thousand small choices, requiring effort and concentration, to do something which is good and right but which doesn’t come naturally. When it really matters, what is required is then automatic. It may look like it “just happens,” but it was the preparation for the unexpected that allowed Captain Sullivan to be able to accept the conditions he was given and respond accordingly. It is, as N.T. Wright says, an example of when “wise and courageous choices have become second nature.” This is what occurs when you purposefully choose to be open to God’s will for your life and daily seek Him. The choices you make in the “days of your youth” are the necessary building blocks of character and virtue, so that when the time of trial comes, you can confidently rely on the power of God’s will in your life. The importance of the scripture message tonight is demonstrated by the life of Eastern graduate Michael Enochs. He lived life to the fullest. He treasured life, family, friendship and love. He placed value on the important things in life and dedicated his life to the service of others. For when the call went out, and the heat of the flames forced many to run from the scene, Mike Enochs had the courage and dedication to run toward them, ready to risk his own life to save another. Even in the classroom, his goal was to achieve the very best he possibly could so that he could use that knowledge in his nursing career to help those in need. Although he was taken from us at such a young age and was so full of life, Mike lived out those words of Ecclesiastes. He lived his faith through his kindness and service to others, and with a joyful, thankful spirit. And when the “difficult times came,” his faith was there to sustain him, offer him hope even in the face of such a terrible disease, and we were all blessed by the example of what we saw through the content of his character.
Last year, I couldn’t find the inspiration to stand in front of a group of graduates and speak from my heart about my faith and the hope of the Gospel message. I was discouraged. I felt that so much of what I believed in about the greatness of our country was lost, and that faith didn’t seem to provide any answers, it only lead to more questions. But tonight, although I am honored to have been asked to speak to you, I would like to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I don’t want you to remember anything that I have done or said. I want you to remember the life of one of Eastern York High School’s best: Engine Company 21 Firefighter and QRS Captain Michael Enochs.
There are some who believe that on that rainy night in Memphis in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision that his life would soon be taken. The truth is, none of us knows when our time will come and what tragedy may befall us. But we need to always be aware that “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” So we must use our time wisely. I still believe that the torch of truth and knowledge needs to be carried forward into the world, and like St. Ignatius I will continue to encourage you to use your talents, gifts, abilities, and knowledge to “Set the world on fire”, but remember-- Just like the boys on the island in Lord of The Flies, much of our world is threatened by a raging fire of ignorance, indifference, incompetence, and selfishness. But like the old aphorism says, “Fight fire with fire!” Therefore, remember the Lord in the days of your youth so that when trials come and you find yourself staring into the heat of adversity, like Mike you’ll have the courage, the training, the character, the virtue, and the FAITH to face the flames with the true heart of a believer!
Congratulations Class of 2012! May God richly bless you in all that you do.